Tech reviews: Sleeping Dogs, Turtle Beach XP400, Spider-Man AR Book

Aug. 17, 2012

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Turtle Beach Ear Force XP400 music to THE ears

There are some things that even a good pair of cans just canít improve. The last karaoke session my brother and I had, for example, comes to mind. Video games, on the other hand, are quite different. From approaching enemy footsteps to car engine sounds and explosions, a good pair of headphones definitely helps kick the gaming experience up another notch. Which brings me to my review of Turtle Beachís Ear Force XP400 wireless gaming headset. Featuring Xbox 360 and PS3 compatibility right off the bat, the XP400 scores brownie points for hardcore gamers with both systems. Sound itself is quite good, sporting a nice, clean profile with excellent treble, healthy-but-not-overpowering bass and adjustable surround sound. You can even sync it with a Bluetooth-compatible smartphone so you can answer phone calls while getting your game on. The XP400 also gives you the freedom of a wireless connection, providing 10 to 15 hours of battery life, depending on your settings. The ability to rotate the ear pieces and remove the mic helps with portability as well. Range is rated at 30 feet but doesnít hold up as well when, say, going up the stairs. The over-the-ear fit is comfy and light but can be a bit loose for some. The transmitter also canít be used with other headphones. Still, itís easily one of the best gaming headsets on the market, thanks to its solid sound and chat features. Cost: $219.95 www.turtlebeach.com

Sleeping Dogs takes bite at Hong Kong crime

Sandbox adventuring meets Hong Kong cinema in the gang-inspired game Sleeping Dogs for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. Purportedly pegged as the latest entry in the True Crime series, the game was dropped by Activision before being picked up and renamed by Square Enix. Such issues normally can spell trouble for a game, but thatís thankfully not the case with Sleeping Dogs, which is one of the more enjoyable titles Iíve played so far this year. Maybe growing up in Asia made many facets of the game relatable to yours truly. The conversations and banter in the game reminded me of past experiences with friends and acquaintances, sans the thuggery, of course. Iím also a fan of Hong Kong action movies, so I enjoyed touches like the one vs. 10 situations you typically find yourself in combined with using environments for attacks. The melee system is especially fun in this game, echoing shades of the Arkham-based Batman games. Leveling up is rewarded with additions to your fighting arsenal. Sleeping Dogs also serves up chase scenes in vehicles and boats plus car-based gunfights. Street racing and side missions like drug busts give players extra stuff to do. Occasionally, I saw glitches involving voice swaps. Overall, though, interesting storytelling combined with fun gameplay definitely make Sleeping Dogs a worthy addition to your game library. Cost: $59.99 www.sleepingdogs.net

Marvel Reads: Spider-Man AR Book HD

Hey, youíve got Disney in my Spider-Man! I guess it really is a small world after all. The house that Mickey built takes the helm for Marvel Reads: Spider-Man AR Book HD, a re-imagining of the newest Spider-Man movie in digital storybook form for the iPad. The story itself is a pretty straightforward telling of Spider-Manís origins based on the film reboot. What makes this particular tale a pretty entertaining romp, however, is the addition of some augmented reality (AR) features. These include a minigame sequence where you have to stop spiders from creepily crawling on your face. Another neat AR feature involves an activity where you use the iPad camera to virtually wear a 3D version of Spider-Manís mask ó something that doesnít look that impressive at first until you lock a pic, start moving your iPad around and realize that the mask changes perspective to match the angle of your head. You can even snap a photo and save it for posterity. For folks who also like more traditional games, ďJar of SpidersĒ lets you shoot the eight-legged buggers into a container. If thereís a drawback for the app, itís the brevity of the story, which is limited to Spideyís origins. Despite this niggle, however, the cool AR features should sustain interest in little ones much longer than your typical digital storybook. Cost: $4.99, iPad with iOS 5.0 and up http://bit.ly/P3q6wLó Jason Hidalgo, RGJ

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Sleeping Dogs takes bite at Hong Kong crime

Sleeping Dogs takes bite at Hong Kong crime

Purportedly pegged as the latest entry in the True Crime series, the game was dropped by Activision before being picked up and renamed by Square Enix. Such publisher issues normally can spell trouble for a game, but thatís thankfully not the case with Sleeping Dogs, which is one of the more enjoyable titles Iíve played so far this year.

Maybe growing up in Asia made many facets of the game relatable to yours truly. The conversations and banter in the game reminded me of past experiences with friends and acquaintances, sans the thuggery, of course. Iím also a fan of Hong Kong action movies, so I enjoyed touches like the one vs. 10 situations you typically find yourself in combined with using environments for attacks. The melee system is especially fun in this game, echoing shades of the Arkham-based Batman games. Leveling up is rewarded with additions to your fighting arsenal.

Turtle Beach Ear Force XP400 music to gamer's ears

There are some things that even a good pair of cans just canít improve. The last karaoke session my brother and I had, for example, comes to mind. Video games, on the other hand, are quite different. From approaching enemy footsteps to car engine sounds and explosions, a good pair of headphones definitely helps kick the gaming experience up another notch.

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Which brings me to my review of Turtle Beachís Ear Force XP400 wireless gaming headset. With Xbox 360 and PS3 compatibility right off the bat, the XP400 scores brownie points for hardcore gamers with both systems. Sound itself is quite good, featuring a nice, clean profile with excellent treble, healthy-but-not-overpowering bass, and adjustable surround sound. You can even sync it with a Bluetooth-compatible smartphone so you can answer phone calls while getting your game on. The XP400 also gives you the freedom of a wireless connection, providing 10 to 15 hours of battery life, depending on your settings. The ability to rotate the ear pieces and remove the mic helps with portability as well.

Range is rated at 30 feet but doesnít hold up as well when, say, going up the stairs. The over-the-ear fit is comfy and light but can be a bit loose for some. The transmitter also canít be used with other headphones. Nevertheless, itís still easily one of the best gaming headsets on the market thanks to its solid sound and chat features.

Marvel Reads: Spider-Man AR Book HD

Hey, youíve got Disney in my Spider-Man! I guess it really is a small world after all.

The house that Mickey built takes the helm for Marvel Reads: Spider-Man AR Book HD, a re-imagining of the newest Spider-Man movie in digital storybook form for the iPad. The story itself is a pretty straightforward telling of Spider-Manís origins based on the film reboot. What makes this particular tale a pretty entertaining romp, however, is the addition of some augmented reality (AR) features. These include a mini-game sequence where you have to stop spiders from creepily crawling on your face. Another neat AR feature involves an activity where you use the iPad camera to virtually wear a 3D version of Spider-Manís mask ó something that doesnít look that impressive at first until you snap a pic, start moving your iPad around and realize that the mask changes perspective to match the angle of your head. You can even snap a photo and save it for posterity. For folks who also like more traditional games, ďJar of SpidersĒ lets you shoot the eight-legged buggers into a container.

If thereís a drawback for the app, itís the brevity of the story, which is limited to Spideyís origins. Despite this niggle, however, the cool AR features should sustain interest in little ones much longer than your typical digital storybook.